Effective Teen Sex Policies
[Unwanted pregnancies and the spread of venereal diseases of which AIDS is the most deadly are presumably the outcome of our natural biological proclivity to engage in sexual relations at an early age, programmed into us genetically by millions of years of evolution -- short human lifetimes of earlier times warranted early sex and pregnancy to allow young parents to raise children before they, themselves, died or were killed. The upshot, however, is that more than 50% of our teens now have had sexual experience. The abstinence approach advocated by conservative religious/moral systems is the least efficient in protecting teens both from pregnancy and deadly infections.
I was particularly alerted to the specifics by a graduate medical research paper that one of my daughters submitted last week on this topic based on 4 major studies which concurred with the data supporting 'safer sex' (i.e. proper education and provision of protections such as condoms against pregnancy and disease) as by far the best and, thus, only way to go. Abstinence apparently is the least effective and only increases male aggression and risks! What follows are the abstract from my daughter's paper and a report of Bill and Melinda Gates' response along similar lines. Ed Kent]
Abstract: "Early Interventions Protecting Adolescent Children"
Due to biological imperatives and hormonal changes which begin in early adolescence, adolescents are at risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases and becoming pregnant. Policy-makers and health care practitioners must be guided by best evidence when choosing interventions to keep adolescents and potential unborn children safe from these risks. In a comparison of four studies, it was found that abstinence-only interventions actually increased the sexual activity of participating males. An “abstinence plus” approach was somewhat effective when applied to younger students who were still sexually naïve. A “safer sex” approach advocating condom use decreased the likelihood that teens would engage in unprotected sex. Therefore, in conclusion, “abstinence plus” interventions may be the best approach for educating younger teens, and “safer sex” may have the highest efficacy for older teens, 50% of whom are probably sexually active already.
.............................
http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,,1844772,00.html
Gates breaks ranks with attack on US Aids policy
· Billionaire says focus on abstinence has failed
· Call for more rights for women and sex workers
Sarah Boseley in Toronto
Tuesday August 15, 2006
The Guardian
Bill and Melinda Gates came off the political fence yesterday and backed key causes of Aids campaigners, criticising the abstinence policies advocated by the US government and calling for more rights for women and help for sex workers.
Making the keynote speech of the opening session of the 16th International Aids conference in Toronto, Canada, the Microsoft billionaire and his wife spoke with passion and commitment about the social changes necessary to stop the spread of HIV/Aids.
The so-called ABC programme - abstain, be faithful and use a condom - has saved many lives, Mr Gates told the conference of more than 20,000 delegates. But he said that for many at the highest risk of infection, ABC had its limits. "Abstinence is often not an option for poor women and girls who have no choice but to marry at an early age. Being faithful will not protect a woman whose partner is not faithful. And using condoms is not a decision that a woman can make by herself; it depends on a man.
"We need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women. This is true whether the woman is a faithful married mother of small children or a sex worker trying to scrape out a living in a slum. No matter where she lives or what she does, a woman should never need her partner's permission to save her own life."
The Gates Foundation is funding research into microbicides - gels or barrier creams that a woman can use before sex and that could destroy the virus.
Mrs Gates called for an end to the stigma that affects those with HIV. "Stigma makes it easier for political leaders to stand in the way of saving lives," she said, in an attack on some African leaders influenced by the pro-abstinence agenda of the Bush government and the Christian fundamentalist right in the US. "In some countries with widespread Aids epidemics, leaders have declared the distribution of condoms immoral, ineffective or both. Some have argued that condoms do not protect against HIV, but in fact help spread it. This is a serious obstacle to ending Aids ... If you oppose the distribution of condoms, something is more important to you than saving lives," she said.
The promotion of abstinence is a key policy of George Bush's $15bn (£7.9bn) five-year President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). By law, 33% of funding must be spent on policies that promote abstinence outside of marriage.
The UN special envoy for HIV/Aids to Africa, Stephen Lewis, accused the Bush government of neo-colonialism. He has given his backing to US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has introduced legislation to get the abstinence-first rule overturned. "No government in the western world has the right to dictate policy to African governments around the way in which they structure their response to the pandemic," he said.
Ms Lee, one of the chief authors of the Pepfar legislation, said she had the backing of 80 members of Congress and 70 non-governmental Aids organisations.
"For women, the abstinence-until-marriage policies make no sense when they face gender discrimination, violence and rape and can't control their own bodies," she said.
Jodi Jacobson, executive director of the Centre for Health and Gender Equity in the US, said that in some African countries abstinence policies were absorbing much more than 33% of Pepfar's prevention funding. "In Nigeria nearly 70% went to abstinence-until-marriage policies. In Tanzania, the newest grant is 95% on abstinence and be faithful programmes for youth aged 15-24," she said.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
I was particularly alerted to the specifics by a graduate medical research paper that one of my daughters submitted last week on this topic based on 4 major studies which concurred with the data supporting 'safer sex' (i.e. proper education and provision of protections such as condoms against pregnancy and disease) as by far the best and, thus, only way to go. Abstinence apparently is the least effective and only increases male aggression and risks! What follows are the abstract from my daughter's paper and a report of Bill and Melinda Gates' response along similar lines. Ed Kent]
Abstract: "Early Interventions Protecting Adolescent Children"
Due to biological imperatives and hormonal changes which begin in early adolescence, adolescents are at risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases and becoming pregnant. Policy-makers and health care practitioners must be guided by best evidence when choosing interventions to keep adolescents and potential unborn children safe from these risks. In a comparison of four studies, it was found that abstinence-only interventions actually increased the sexual activity of participating males. An “abstinence plus” approach was somewhat effective when applied to younger students who were still sexually naïve. A “safer sex” approach advocating condom use decreased the likelihood that teens would engage in unprotected sex. Therefore, in conclusion, “abstinence plus” interventions may be the best approach for educating younger teens, and “safer sex” may have the highest efficacy for older teens, 50% of whom are probably sexually active already.
.............................
http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,,1844772,00.html
Gates breaks ranks with attack on US Aids policy
· Billionaire says focus on abstinence has failed
· Call for more rights for women and sex workers
Sarah Boseley in Toronto
Tuesday August 15, 2006
The Guardian
Bill and Melinda Gates came off the political fence yesterday and backed key causes of Aids campaigners, criticising the abstinence policies advocated by the US government and calling for more rights for women and help for sex workers.
Making the keynote speech of the opening session of the 16th International Aids conference in Toronto, Canada, the Microsoft billionaire and his wife spoke with passion and commitment about the social changes necessary to stop the spread of HIV/Aids.
The so-called ABC programme - abstain, be faithful and use a condom - has saved many lives, Mr Gates told the conference of more than 20,000 delegates. But he said that for many at the highest risk of infection, ABC had its limits. "Abstinence is often not an option for poor women and girls who have no choice but to marry at an early age. Being faithful will not protect a woman whose partner is not faithful. And using condoms is not a decision that a woman can make by herself; it depends on a man.
"We need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women. This is true whether the woman is a faithful married mother of small children or a sex worker trying to scrape out a living in a slum. No matter where she lives or what she does, a woman should never need her partner's permission to save her own life."
The Gates Foundation is funding research into microbicides - gels or barrier creams that a woman can use before sex and that could destroy the virus.
Mrs Gates called for an end to the stigma that affects those with HIV. "Stigma makes it easier for political leaders to stand in the way of saving lives," she said, in an attack on some African leaders influenced by the pro-abstinence agenda of the Bush government and the Christian fundamentalist right in the US. "In some countries with widespread Aids epidemics, leaders have declared the distribution of condoms immoral, ineffective or both. Some have argued that condoms do not protect against HIV, but in fact help spread it. This is a serious obstacle to ending Aids ... If you oppose the distribution of condoms, something is more important to you than saving lives," she said.
The promotion of abstinence is a key policy of George Bush's $15bn (£7.9bn) five-year President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). By law, 33% of funding must be spent on policies that promote abstinence outside of marriage.
The UN special envoy for HIV/Aids to Africa, Stephen Lewis, accused the Bush government of neo-colonialism. He has given his backing to US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has introduced legislation to get the abstinence-first rule overturned. "No government in the western world has the right to dictate policy to African governments around the way in which they structure their response to the pandemic," he said.
Ms Lee, one of the chief authors of the Pepfar legislation, said she had the backing of 80 members of Congress and 70 non-governmental Aids organisations.
"For women, the abstinence-until-marriage policies make no sense when they face gender discrimination, violence and rape and can't control their own bodies," she said.
Jodi Jacobson, executive director of the Centre for Health and Gender Equity in the US, said that in some African countries abstinence policies were absorbing much more than 33% of Pepfar's prevention funding. "In Nigeria nearly 70% went to abstinence-until-marriage policies. In Tanzania, the newest grant is 95% on abstinence and be faithful programmes for youth aged 15-24," she said.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
posted by Ed Kent at 7:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home